Rather than divert another post here, I'll start a fresh one.
Problem: Tilling hard clay without destroying your tiller or tractor with all the banging and hammering going on.
Solution: Set your skid shoes to the minimum depth the tiller will cut, like maybe 2 inches.
If you visualize the angle of attack, the angle that the tine enters the ground, when you have the skid shoes set for max depth, the tine is going into the ground at nearly a 90 degree angle--straight down. When it hits the ground and has trouble penetrating, it tries to bounce and hammers.
Now change the skid shoes to the min depth, and you will see that the angle of attack is very slight--the tine goes in at maybe a 45 degree angle. Much less bouncing and hammering.
But you say "I have to till deeper than that!" Fine. Do a second pass and you should notice your skid shoes are buried in the lose dirt from the first pass, so now you are 4" down. Repeat as necessary to increase depth.
Hope this helps you. I discovered this the first time I tried to till our clay. My tiller went from a clanging, banging, vibrating machines to running smooth as a sewing machine.
Ron
Problem: Tilling hard clay without destroying your tiller or tractor with all the banging and hammering going on.
Solution: Set your skid shoes to the minimum depth the tiller will cut, like maybe 2 inches.
If you visualize the angle of attack, the angle that the tine enters the ground, when you have the skid shoes set for max depth, the tine is going into the ground at nearly a 90 degree angle--straight down. When it hits the ground and has trouble penetrating, it tries to bounce and hammers.
Now change the skid shoes to the min depth, and you will see that the angle of attack is very slight--the tine goes in at maybe a 45 degree angle. Much less bouncing and hammering.
But you say "I have to till deeper than that!" Fine. Do a second pass and you should notice your skid shoes are buried in the lose dirt from the first pass, so now you are 4" down. Repeat as necessary to increase depth.
Hope this helps you. I discovered this the first time I tried to till our clay. My tiller went from a clanging, banging, vibrating machines to running smooth as a sewing machine.
Ron